Press Releases
Scott: Association Health Plans Shift Costs Onto Workers
03.22.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1101, the Small Business Health Fairness Act, by a vote of 236-175, largely on party lines: "H.R. 1101 would undermine the progress made under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), weaken state-level consumer protections and shift costs onto working people. This association health plan idea has been studied for years and it has been concluded that it's a bad idea. Under t… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Urge Senate to Press Acosta on Upholding DOL Mission
03.21.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Committee on the Education and Workforce Democrats sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding the upcoming nomination hearing of Mr. R. Alexander Acosta, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Labor. Specifically, they want to know how Mr. Acosta intends to carry out the DOL's mission to "foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners [.]" "During Mr. Acosta's upcoming… Continue Reading
Davis: Financial Aid Programs Require Investment, Targeting
03.21.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53), Ranking Member of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, delivered the following statement during a hearing on federal student financial aid. Rep. Davis emphasized the need to expand access to higher education through robust investments in federal student aid. Key Excerpts from Rep. Davis' Remarks: "Since the Higher Education Act's enactment, the United States has made substantial progress in college access. Student of col… Continue Reading
Bonamici: Education Department Turns Back on Struggling Student Loan Borrowers
03.17.17 WASHINGTON, DC [03/17/17] - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) released the following statement after the Department of Education rescinded guidance that prohibited imposing collection fees on borrowers who take action quickly to repay their defaulted loans: "Those who are struggling to pay their students loans can face lifelong consequences that will affect their ability to rent an apartment or buy a car if they go into default. We must create more opportunities to prevent individuals… Continue Reading
40 House Dems to DOL: Don’t Delay Fiduciary Rule
03.17.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and 37 other Democratic Members of Congress sent a letter to Ed Hugler, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), expressing opposition to the DOL's proposed 60-day delay of its… Continue Reading
Scott, Foxx, Murray, Alexander Request Briefing from Department of Education on FAFSA Data Retrieval Tool Outage
03.16.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, respectively, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, respectively, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today asking for more information about the cause and scope of the outage of the Internal Revenue Services'… Continue Reading
Adams Statement on the Budget Blueprint’s Impact on HBCUs
03.16.17 WASHINGTON, DC -Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) released the following statement after the administration announced their "skinny" budget. "Less than three weeks ago, this administration claimed it is a priority to advocate for HBCUs but, after viewing this budget proposal, those calls ring hollow," said Congresswoman Adams. "This budget slashes critical funding for institutions, students, and their families. "With a 13% cut to federal education funding amounting to a nearly $4 billion rescis… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on President Trump’s FY18 Budget
03.16.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House released an outline of its Fiscal Year 2018 budget priorities, known as the "skinny budget." "This budget proposal is yet another broken promise from the Administration to the American people. Cutting $54 billion from programs that help protect and support working families to learn and earn is no way to grow the national economy or put people back to work. Working families deserve a budget … Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Criticize Secretary DeVos on Rushed and Problematic State Plan Template
03.13.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement today on Secretary DeVos' state plan template, which does not require stakeholder engagement or public comment, raising a number of initial concerns about whether this template complies with the Every Student Succeeds Act. "We are disa… Continue Reading
Shea-Porter Statement on Huge Coverage Losses Under Republican Health Care Bill
03.13.17 WASHINGTON, DC- Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) released the following statement after the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of the Republican health care bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). "Today's estimate by the independent Congressional Budget Office that 14 million Americans would lose their insurance next year under the Republican health plan should be the nail in the coffin for this draconian proposal, which would not only ta… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on CBO Analysis of Republican Bill to Repeal the Affordable Care Act
03.13.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office announced that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured under the Republicans' Pay More For Less bill. "The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed what we already knew - that millions of Americans would lose access to affordable health insurance under the Republican plan. This proposal was put together without considering the fundamental principles of arithmetic. By skewi… Continue Reading
Polis Statement on U.S. Department of Education’s Closed-Process for ESSA Implementation
03.13.17 WASHINGTON: Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Education's new application template for states to develop their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Department of Education's guidance follows the U.S. Senate's passage of H.J. Res 57, a resolution to overturn key accountability protections in ESSA. The new template removes a key requirement that states consult stakeholders when drafting the state plan. "Elim… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Call on Secretary DeVos to Implement Every Student Succeeds Act As Congress Intended
03.10.17 (Washington, D.C.) -Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today inquiring about the Department's proposed state template and encouraging the Department to make sure the plan complies with the federal guardrails the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) puts in place… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on February Jobs Report
03.10.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after he Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added a total of 235,000 jobs in February, with the unemployment rate at 4.7 percent. "President Trump claimed he was handed 'a mess' by the Obama Administration, but we know that is not accurate. Under President Obama the unemployment rate was cut in half while GDP and median income rose. The economic growth reflected in today's jobs report shows Presi… Continue Reading
Polis Statement on Senate Passage of Resolution to Unravel School Accountability Measures
03.09.17 WASHINGTON: Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., released the following statement regarding the U.S. Senate passage of H.J. Res 57, a resolution to overturn key accountability protections in the Every Student Succeeds Act. "The Senate's vote today represents another example of Republicans chipping away at our bipartisan work on the Every Student Succeeds Act," Polis said. "The accountability provisions in the law represent critical civil rights protections for students and go hand-in-hand with the Depart… Continue Reading
Scott Denounces Senate Move to Weaken Public Education
03.09.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Senate voted 50-49 to undermine civil rights protections in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). "Faithful implementation of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act should not be a partisan issue. States and school districts want the stability and consistency provided by the Department of Education's consensus-driven regulations that Congressional Republicans h… Continue Reading
Committee Republicans Pass Health Care Proposals That Would Harm Working Families
03.08.17 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup on H.R. 1101, the Small Business Health Fairness Act, H.R. 1304 the Self-Insurance Protection Act, and H.R. 1313, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act. These three proposals would weaken insurance protections for consumers, shift costs onto working people, and undermine civil rights and privacy protections of employees. "H.R. 1101, H.R. 1304, and H.R. 1313 do nothing to help insulate the American people from… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Republican ACA Repeal Bill
03.06.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Republicans finally released their proposal to Make America Sick Again. "The Republican bill to repeal the ACA is fundamentally flawed, because it purports to cover pre-existing conditions without an individual mandate. In states that have tried this, the markets have gone into total chaos. Furthermore, the tax credits proposed are likely to be insufficient for low-inc… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Push DeVos on Protections for Transgender Students
03.02.17 WASHINGTON - Earlier today, Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, and Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about the recent actions taken by the Trump Administration reversing critical guidance for protecting transgender students. The Members pushed Secretary DeVos to explain the discrepancy i… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the Rollback of Workplace Safety Protections
03.01.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House voted 231-191 to pass H.J. Res 83, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) Resolution of Disapproval that would overturn an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule clarifying that employers have a continuing obligation to record injuries and illnesses. "Some unscrupulous employers are already cooking the books by failing to record the most serious wo… Continue Reading